


Hot on your Heels

by paperchaim



Category: Cookie Run (Video Game)
Genre: And by that I mean they're human but I'm not giving them human names, ChiliRye - Freeform, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Guns, Huddling For Warmth, Lesbians, Minor Violence, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Read to find out what the hell I mean by that, Rye has no romance experience, Slow To Update, Suggestive Themes, Swearing, Their cookie flavours still effect things tho, slight humanization, slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:02:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29059455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperchaim/pseuds/paperchaim
Summary: "Be a bit hard to carry a body to the nearest sheriff's office when you're in the middle of nowhere and down a 40-meter steep canyon that you will have no chance to climb up." Chili smirked, "So go on tough girl, shoot and see how easy it is to carry a corpse around." Rye narrowed her green eyes at the other girl knowing she was right. She huffed loudly in frustration, placing her gun in her holster before reaching around her back for a pair of cuffs she had ready for this encounter."Guess we're travelling buddies until we get to the nearest town love."
Relationships: Chili Pepper Cookie/Rye Cookie (Cookie Run), ChiliRye
Comments: 21
Kudos: 21





	1. Narrow Misses

**Author's Note:**

> Heyo! I saw there was no ChiliRye fics at all yet so I set out to change that, hopefully should be updating every week or 2 ;w;
> 
> Please enjoy!

Having a gun pointed directly under her chin, being soaked to the bone while having another woman straddling her at the bottom of a ravine was not precisely how Chili expected her day to go. Still, here she was, possibly about to die with not even a gold coin snatched, what an odd end to the notorious treasure hunter Chili Pepper.

An hour earlier, the thief had been seeking out some treasure she had heard rumours about in a small dusty town way out from the kingdom; the plan was simple, snatch the prize from whatever poor loser was keeping it and run off into the sunset, getting home in time for supper with the brats. This town was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing but desert and a bottomless ravine that was only traversable by a long but rickety bridge that Chili swears would break if she were any heavier. Many folks scattered for cover the minute she stepped in, most just being farm folk with no real sheriff or law enforcer in the place. Chili half-scoffed; this would be easier than she even thought initially. 

Waltzing in like she owned the place, eyes closed and hands laying close to her daggers, trotting towards the house she had heard held the treasure she was after Chili felt relieved that no one would be getting in her way this time. Before the red-haired bandit could even place her boot on the patio, a gunshot rang out from the top of the house, narrowly missing her foot, 

"Did you think it would be that easy to steal from someone helpless again?" a somewhat familiar voice growled from above where Chili was frozen from shock. Quickly gathering herself together, Chili gazed upwards, being met with the barrel of a gun pointed directly at her. A familiar face stared down at her; Rye had an all too smug look on her face, but the revenge that burned deep within her shone in her green eyes.

"Dontcha have another hobby than following me around everywhere like some kinda stray?" Chili hissed out, meeting the other girls' eyes with an almost pout on her face; great, the appearance of this bounty hunter had ruined her day. 

"Sorry to disappoint, sweetheart, but it is my job to hunt you down." Rye smirked, "Now you can come quietly, or we can end it here; your bounty is dead or alive after all." The freckled girls' smirk seemed to turn upwards in malice at the thought of the other woman dead. Chili remained unmoving for a while, intensely staring back at Rye's green eyes with her fiery red ones. She would be shot immediately if she even tried to run away, Rye had a perfect aim with her twin pistols, but there was no way the redhead was going to come quietly to the nearest jail cell with the blonde, but maybe...

"FINE!" Chili screeched, surprising Rye in the process, "YOU WIN! HURRY UP AND TAKE ME TO WHATEVER COZY JAIL CELL YOU HAVE PLANNED!" Chili yelled in the most bratty voice she could, folding her arms and pouting; taken aback by the outright declaration of defeat, Rye had to take a second to correct herself.

"Right, ha, of course." Rye straightened herself up, very obviously confused at the sudden resignment of the other woman, preparing to jump down from the roof she had perched herself on, moving to the side to not fall directly on top of Chili. The second the green-eyed woman took the step to leap of, Chili dashed into the house at full speed; being lucky enough that the door was not locked, she was barely able to close the door and duck before several bullets made their home in the frame of the old wooden door. Chili could hear her heart throbbing in her ears, her eyes wide from an even narrower miss than before.

"You little-" Rye cut herself off by ramming herself into the door at full force, making it swing on its hinges, revealing Chili not there and a window towards the back of the house very obviously had been recently opened. Rye turned heel and ran out the door to see Chili booking it back out of town.

"Sorry sweetheart! I also have a job to do, and that's stealing as may valuables from people as possible." The bandit laughed loudly while her feet carried her as fast as they could through the dust road. Rye didn't even hesitate before chasing after the wanted criminal, gritting her teeth in anger; there was no way she was letting the thief get away this time; she'd already gotten out of the bounty hunters grasp too many times. 

Chili approached the unstable old wooden bridge, confident she could probably cut the ropes to the thing in time to make sure Rye wouldn't follow her. Chili snickered to herself; stealing was only part of the fun of being a criminal on the run; she kinda enjoyed this game of cat and mouse they played.

With spite fueling her, Rye tried to aim her guns at the bandit while sprinting after her; she couldn't aim as well in movement as she could while stationary. Still, any chance to wound Chili and slow her down was better than letting the criminal slip out of Rye's hands again. Rye's eyes widened seeing Chili take her first delicate step onto the bridge, immediately picking up the pace to close the distance between them while Chili was occupied with not making the bridge collapse. Taking aim just as she stepped onto the bridge, being finally close enough to get a clear enough shot. The redhead turned to face Rye just as the blonde fired, having her third near-miss to that gun the span of such a short time, Chili ducked, the bullet grazing her ponytail. Chili audibly laughed until the bridge started to tip sideways suddenly. 

Both women immediately lost their footing; the bullet originally aimed at Chili had snapped one of the supporting ropes on the other side of the bridge instead. They both desperately grabbed onto the wooden planks that made up the bridge but to no avail; as the old rotten wood gave way under both their hands, both of them yelled out in terror, both plummeting towards their supposed deaths at the bottom of the ravine.

Chili had a lot of regrets as she fell; not making up with her brother was at the forefront of her mind as she felt the wind howl in her ears; who was going to take care of those silly kids back at home now? They weren't going to last very long without an adult around; hopefully, they'd be able to magically summon another one, not that she particularly cared all that much. Funny how she had only just found a 'home', and now it had been taken away from her so quickly, almost like she didn't deserve good things after her life choices and taking good things from others. It was fair, she decided; at least she hadn't been caught and thrown in jail; she much preferred this end over rotting in a cell for eternity. Chili tucked in on herself, closing her eyes tight and bracing for the bone-crushing impact that would soon come; no point in praying or bargaining any kind of god for saviour now, she supposed. 

What she wasn't expecting was to be dunked in cold water, soaking her thoroughly, opening her eyes in shock while also accidentally inhaling a bunch of the surprisingly chilly water in the process. She quickly swam up, gasping for air in her shocked state while also trying to keep her head above water; she had never been an exceptionally talented swimmer. Steeling her resolve, heart beating and pumping adrenaline through her veins, she began swimming towards the ledge of the river she had found herself submerged in. Her fingers grasped at the mud of the riverbank; she could feel the dirt lodging under her fingernails; she grimaced slightly at the awful feeling but eventually hauled her body out of the chilling water. Her lungs tried to intake as much oxygen as possible as she coughed up the water filling them; her throat felt raw and her whole body was still in shock, but she managed to laugh at the situation; against all odds, she had survived.

Chili forced herself to crawl to the more stable ground, but before she could allow herself to collapse, another body slammed itself into her at full force, making both of them roll in a mock fight. Chili could barely process what was going on before her arms were pinned above her head, a pair of legs straddled her waist. The cold metal of a gun was pressed to her chin as she looked up at an equally soaked Rye; her freckled face had a look of absolute hatred plastered on it; she was missing her signature hat, her eyes were wild with a mixture of anger and residue fear.

"You're not fucking getting away from me again, not with your life anyway!" Rye weakly yelled, almost vibrating with anger, but Chili could still see Rye was shaken up from the event, desperately gulping down air between words. "I'm finally going to see the dirt red with your blood, finally get to see you suffer," Rye growled out; a slightly twisted smile made its way on the taller girls face as she looked down at Chili.

"Be a bit hard to carry a body to the nearest sheriff's office when you're in the middle of nowhere and down a 40-meter steep canyon that you will have no chance to climb up." Chili smirked, "So go on tough girl, shoot and see how easy it is to carry a corpse around." Rye narrowed her green eyes at the other girl knowing she was right. She huffed loudly in frustration, placing her gun in her holster before reaching around her back for a pair of cuffs she had ready for this encounter.

"Guess we're travelling buddies until we get to the nearest town love." Rye snickered, cuffing a not too please Chili's wrists together. Rye roughly stood up, yanking Chili with her by the cuffs and immediately headbutting her, making the other girl yelp in pain before falling back to the ground. "Just because I need you alive doesn't mean I'm going to be giving you any special treatment, I will personally make sure your life is hell." 

"Looking forward to it love."


	2. Chapter 2: Best Laid Out Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Why does it matter so much to ya anyway, wouldn't it benefit you if I dropped dead or got ill." Rye glared at Chili.
> 
> "What the fuck do you take me for? Sure, I want to getaway. I don't want you to die for that to happen though, I'm not a complete asshole." The red-eyed girl stood up, walking over to where Rye's clothes were still drying on the small tree and grabbing them with her cuffed hands; Ryes eyes followed Chili, making sure she wasn't trying to do anything suspicious. "Besides, I wouldn't feel right about it; even if you do hate me, I don't exactly hate you. I just think you're too stubborn for your own good." Chili explained, tossing the poncho and gloves the best she could directly onto Rye's shivering lap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!!
> 
> So sorry I havent updated in forever, I genuinely got stuck on a part and had no idea how to progress <3  
> This fic is still happening don't worry <3  
> This hasn't been proofread <3

The wind howled something terrible down in the ravine, it almost seemed to scream as it passed by the different curves and bumps of the rocky walls. The cliff sides cast such harsh shadows that the bottom of the ravine was much cooler than the rust-red sand of the surface above where the two women had fallen, it gave Chili goosebumps from both the noise and the cold as she sat at the edge of the river bank cuffed.

"Got no clue why you have such long hair, surely it gets in the way of everything you do, doesn't seem worth the trouble." Chili scoffed as she sat a good meter away from Rye while the other girl meticulously braided her dripping wet hair into a plait, Rye stared at the other woman coldly.

"It's none of your business, and I wouldn't expect you to understand regardless." Rye huffed, finishing off her plait before standing up quickly and heading towards the river again.

"What're you doing nowww?" Chili groaned out, she fidgeted in her handcuffs, they'd been just sitting around for about 10 minutes now and she was desperate for an opportunity to arise so she could break free and get out of this uncomfortable temperature they had found themselves in.

"Stop your whining, your worse than a hound pup who hasn't received it's dinner yet. I'm just trying to find my other pistol." Rye growled, taking her boots, gloves and poncho off before stepping into the unusually chilly water. Chili felt warmth in her cheeks as she averted her gaze from Rye who's see-through soaked white shirt left nothing to the imagination.

"Hurry up will ya! It's already afternoon if we wait around much longer we'll freeze to death out here with no shelter or source of warmth!" Chili yelled out, trying to hide the fact she was clearly flustered by the blonde's appearance. Rye just grunted in response as she dove into the water, leaving Chili by herself. In any other environment, this would be the perfect opportunity to escape, but they both were trapped in the steep walls of the ravine, looking both ways it didn't see it ended very suddenly either. Chili huffed, they didn't even have a horse or any other form of transportation other than walking. Rye soon resurfaced holding her other pistol triumphantly with a huge smile on her face despite her current company and predicament.

"GOT IT! Now ya can quit ya whinning now." Rye yelled, pulling herself out of the water for a second time.

"What about your fancy hat Miss Bounty Hunter?" Chili asked, still averting her eyes from the other girl.

"Current took 'er, won't be seeing my badge or my hat for a long time I don't think." Rye sighed, not bothering to put on her poncho and gloves to give her clothes a chance to possibly dry out. "Let's hurry up and get moving shall we?" Rye smirked as Chili rolled her eyes, attempting to stand up but losing her balance from not being able to use her hands as support and nearly falling face-first into the dirt, Rye audibly laughed at the poor girl.

"Can you goddamn help me or are you gonna just watch me flail around?" Chili growled, her eyes narrowed at Rye.

"Nah I think I'll watch you flail some more before we leave." Rye chuckled at the scene before her.

"You're so infuriating!"

"Right back at you sweet thing."

~

This canyon seemed endless from both sides and impossibly long; by the time they would get out, they would have no clue where the town they had originated would even be anymore. Hours passed, and Rye was seriously starting to regret not putting a bullet through Chili's head.

"The brats can barely fend for themselves, you know? I mean, I have a little brother myself, but it feels weird that I was the one that got summoned; I gotta tell you though, I am kinda pissed they teleported me just as I was about to hit the jackpot, but what can ya do? Can't just leave 4 kids there to fight of hoards of cakehounds? I'm a thief, but I ain't heartless. So anyway Custards a little shi-"

"Do ya ever shut your trap?" Rye growled at the redhead.

"Sorry for trying to make this trip a little less boring, we've been fucking walking for hours now." Chili groaned out, "What's your game plan anyway Sheriff?"

"Find the nearest town, of course, then throw you into the nearest slammer, collect my award money and be set for life." Rye stated nonchalantly, throwing her arms up in a shrug, "Didn't think it was that hard to guess my motives." Chili just sighed. 

"You really think you'll be able to keep me around for that long huh?" Chili giggled, "Why do you think my bounties so high, I haven't been caught yet and I don't intend on making a cell my home anytime soon."

"The cuffs around your wrists say a different story."

"I'll break out of these no sweat just watch me." Chili growled, getting irritated with the other woman now, 'why does she hate me so much?'

"I'd love to see you try Pepper, I know how to make sure ya won't get out of them." Rye smirked proudly.

"Oooh kinky~ Your partner must be lucky." Chili giggled as pure crimson made its way onto Ryes face.

"Shut up you varmin; you think I'd really be out here with you if I had someone waiting at home for me?" Rye growled, flustered at the other woman's words.

"Wait... No fucking way you don't have anyone??? You've got to be kidding me not even like a friends with benefits situation?" 

"You're getting a bit too comfy asking about my personal life." 

"I just spilled my whole life story to you a couple hours ago you could at least tell me if your hooked or not."

"You told me your life story regardless of my feelings towards ya doing it." Rye corrected. "Never asked ya too."

"...So you're not seeing anyone?"

"Oh wow what a perfect spot to camp for the night." Rye dodged Chili's question, gesturing to a small tree in the middle of all the red dirt and mud, picking up a stray stick and examining it. "Some of the woods even dry might be able to make a fire." 

Brushing off the fact she was so bluntly ignored, Chili spoke up, "With what fire starter?" she rolled her eyes. Rye visibly paled at that comment before frantically reaching for the leather satchel strapped around her thigh that Chili hadn't noticed before, desperately searching for something before pulling out a small container, opening it and breathing a sigh of relief as she held the 3 matches in her hand.

"We won't freeze tonight Pepper."

~

The sun setting only meant the temperature dropped more as the two built the tiniest fire ever that was not worth the bickering it ensued. The sky was painted a dark purple as they both sat around their makeshift camp, Rye visibly irritated by the cold that was starting to set in.

"You ok there?" Chili asked, sitting opposite to the bounty hunter, holding her knees to her chest with her cuffed wrists. She had never been to bothered by the cold temperatures as she was practically a walking furnace. Rye didn't answer her and kept staring at the fire they had built; Chili could see her shivering slightly.

"Not that good with the cold ey?" Chili teased, knowing that she was more likely to get a response than her genuine concern.

"I'd rather be working on the fields in a snow jacket in the middle of summer." Rye snarled, her teeth starting to chatter. This made Chili incredibly concerned for the blonde.

"You should put your poncho and gloves back on; they should be dry now." Chili pointed out, Rye seemed to take this as a hit to her pride and just scoffed at the thief. "You're going to catch hypothermia if you don't get more layers on you." Chili deadpanned. 

"Why does it matter so much to ya anyway, wouldn't it benefit you if I dropped dead or got ill." Rye glared at Chili.

"What the fuck do you take me for? Sure, I want to getaway. I don't want you to die for that to happen though, I'm not a complete asshole." The red-eyed girl stood up, walking over to where Rye's clothes were still drying on the small tree and grabbing them with her cuffed hands; Ryes eyes followed Chili, making sure she wasn't trying to do anything suspicious. "Besides, I wouldn't feel right about it; even if you do hate me, I don't exactly hate you. I just think you're too stubborn for your own good." Chili explained, tossing the poncho and gloves the best she could directly onto Rye's shivering lap. Rye grumbled what almost sounded like a 'thanks' before shoving the clothing items on.

"How are you perfectly fine anyway, ya've got less clothes than me." Rye narrowed her eyes.

"Chili Pepper, I'm the hottest person you'll ever meet." Chili snickered and winked at Rye before offering her arms for the other woman to feel. Although Rye was hesitant at first, her curiosity got the better of her, and she gently touched Chili's skin; sure enough, she was warm like a freshly baked good.

"You weren't kidding..." Rye said, totally enamoured by the strange ability the redhead had as she gently held Chili's hand before realising what she was doing and nearly shoving them away from her. Chili almost looked hurt at the gesture as she scooted back and settled down at her spot across from Rye again. An almost stale awkwardness settled between them as Rye huddled closer to the fire for warmth; although her teeth had stopped chattering, she was still visibly cold.

'There's no way she'll be able to sleep tonight, let alone be well enough to travel in the morning. Wait, why do I even care? She's made it obvious my worry is unneeded. But she looks like she's going to freeze to death...' Chili couldn't stop staring at the green-eyed girl as her inner conflict fought inside her. 'I'd be a monster if I let her just freeze...which is already what she thinks I am maybe I should just prove her right...I'd never forgive myself though.' Chili huffed, standing up from her spot again and walking over to Rye, who looked up at her in confusion.

"Don't freak out."

"Why would I- HEY HEY!" Rye yelled as Chili gently placed her cuffed arms around her neck. 

"I said don't freak out I'm not trying to strangle you!" Chili growled out, red painting her cheeks. "We can share body heat is we cuddle..." Ryes face became just as red as Chili's.

"And how do I know ya won't decide to strangle me once I'm asleep?" Rye asked, not meeting Chili's eyes.

"I'm just as exhausted as you, and I can't escape from you yet, even if you were dead." Chili explained, "Now lay down already so we can get comfy; this isn't ideal for me either." 

Rye didn't like this predicament she'd found herself in at all but did as she was told, laying flat on her back as Chili seemed to cling to her side as if she was meant to be there. "Rye please don't make this more difficult than it already is; face me unless you want just one side of your body to stay warm." Chili sighed; Rye reluctantly turned over, facing the thief but refusing to still make eye contact, "Hands-on my back, don't move them." Chili instructed as Rye complied wordlessly. "There, that wasn't so hard." Chili jeered, this pose was much too intimate for Rye's liking, but she could feel herself getting warmer already as she clutched the shorter girl. As expected, she smelt like spice and warmth, which Rye found oddly endearing and almost comforting. Despite her best interest, she snuggled closer to the heat Chili provided; this was way too comfortable.

"Ok, goodnight Sheriff I'll try not to accidentally choke you to death." Chili yawned, laying her head on Ryes chest as both of their eyes started to flutter close.

"Goodnight to you too Pepper..."


End file.
